 |
Record
Wins: 59
Losses: 23 Win PCT: 0.720 Playoffs: Lost Western Conference Finals (4-2) to San Antonio Spurs |
|
Stat Leaders
Points: Kevin Durant (32 PPG)
Assists: Russell Westbrook (6.9 APG) Rebounds: Serge Ibaka (8.75 RPG) |
Since we’re deciding not to include the Seattle SuperSonics’ storied history as part of the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, there’s only seven seasons to choose from for OKC. Fortunately, the Thunder have been one of the league’s best teams over that span. In fact, the running for “best” team in that short timeframe is incredibly tough to decide.
The 2011-12 roster that reached the NBA Finals gets the “best on paper” nod, since OKC still had James Harden in the mix, but the maturation of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the bearded one wasn’t where it needed to be at that point in time.
The
2012-13 Thunder posted the best regular season record at 60-22, and was
named a top 10 regular season team of all time according to
Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal
, but a torn meniscus Westbrook suffered in the first round against
Houston derailed OKC’s dominant locomotive. As Fromal wrote, “Could a
full strength squad have advanced to the NBA Finals and earned
redemption for the 2012 Finals loss? Possibly, but we’ll never be able
to do anything more than wonder.”
It’s a shame that the 2012-13 team was robbed of a fair
shake at winning it all, but that leaves the 2013-14 team as the best
Oklahoma City has witnessed. The Thunder wound up losing in the Western
Conference Finals to the eventual champion Spurs, but they still went
59-23 during the regular season as Durant posted the best season of his
career (and won MVP to boot).
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